Provision-rack.



No. 891,660. PATENTED JUNE 23 1908. G. H. BOEOK.

PROVISION RACK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 1907.

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No. 891,660. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908.

G. H. BOECK.

PROVISION RACK.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN.10, 1907.

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UNITED s'rai ns PATENT OFFICE.-

CHARLES H. BOEOK, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO METAL STAMPING COMPANY. i i JACKSON, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

PROVISION-BACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 23, 1908.

Application filed January 10, 1907. Serial No. 351,707.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. BOECK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jackson, in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Provision: Racks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to sup orting shelves for refrigerators, provision-sa es, and other storage receptacles.

The ob'ect is to provide an efficient and practicab e construction of rack with shelf or shelves, having the combined qualities of lightness, simplicity and strength, as well as neatness of design, and permitting the shelves tobe conveniently revolved so as to be more readily accessible from the door or opening of the refrigerator or other casing, and allowing the shelves to be easily adusted up and down to render them adapt able for different requirements, and also to be easily detached and replaced for cleansing or other purposes.

The invention will hereinafter be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings (hereby made a part of this specification), and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which follow this description.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rack and shelves embodyin my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detai section of one of the clamps for securin a shelf to the side members of the rack. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail perspective of one of the clamps with its members unassembled. Fig. 4 is a central vertical section through the provision-chamberof a refrigerator, showing the rack and shelves mounted thereon, the rack being shown artly in elevation and ig. 5 is a horizontal section of the subject-matter of Fig. 4.

As shown in the drawings, the provisionshelves A are placed one above another With- -m an upright rack .13. l.he rack is in the form of a rectangular frame, pivotally mounted or adapted to be pivotally mounted so as to be revoluble about a substantially central vertical axis, the top and bottom members of said frame having suitable provision for making pivotal connections or bearings with the support or supports for the rack.

The construction of one of the shelves A is as follows: It resembles a wheel in general form, comprising inner and outer rings aand a respectively, preferably stout metal rings made of continuous round rods or heavy wires; said rings being connected by a series of radiating fine rods or tautwires a the ends of which are rigidly joined to the rings, preferably by bending the said ends of the rods or wires over and around the rings a and a. This construction is exceedingly light,

and at the same time strong and rigid, due to the tension of the plurality of rods or wires radiating in all directions from the central ring. a of the shelf. The shelf also possesses (ill a'certain amount of elasticity, and is practically non-breakable.

Each shelf A is held in the revoluble rack B by means of clamps C adjustabl v-engaging the side members I) of the rack, and engaging the rim or outer ring a of the shelf in such manner as to permit detachment thereof. The side members I) of the rack or frame B are shown slot-ted, as indicated at b, and the clamps C res ectively comprise a pair of co acting outsir e and inside clamp-memlwrs c.

and c embracing the said side-members b be.- tween them, and drawn together by a thumbscrew 0', the head of which is located at the inside of the rack to avoid any obstruction or projection on the outside. ()ne of said clampmembers also has lugs'or pins 0 projecting from its face and extending through the slot 1) and through openings therefor in the other clamp-member, whereby the clamp is prevcnted'from turning on the side-member b of the rack, while the two members of the clamp are also ke t in proper relation. The inner clamp-mem ers c are formed or provided with claws c, which engage and overlie. the rimor outer ring (1 of the shelf from the inner side thereof; the said claws being shown bifurcated so as to straddle the radial rods or s okes a of the shelf. The word claw is intended to include any suitable curved finger or other device, carried by the inner clam )-I11Illl)1 c, to engage the marginal shoulder constituted by the outer ring a of the shelf. When the shelf is thus engaged by the claws c and the thumbscrews 0 are tightened, the clamps C are rigidly attached to the sideunembcrs I) of the rack, while the shelf is also held rigid and 110 without possibility of becoming dis laced. To adjust the shelf vertically, the t umbscrews of the clamps at the op osite sides of the shelf are loosened and the s helf is then 5- moved up and down to desired position, whereupon the thumb-screws are again tightened. The loosening of the thumbsciews c for this purpose will not release the shelf, or cause accidental detachment of-the o shelf from its clan ps, since the claws c of the clamps engage the outer ring a of the shelf in such manner that the clamps have to be se arated to a considerable extent before tl fe shelf can be detached.

The rack B, like the shelf, is preferably though not essentially made of metal, and, for the sake of lightness'and stren th, the top and bottom members 5 of the rac may comprise channel-beams or bars, having their extremities respectively bent downward and upward at the corners'of the rack, as indicated at N, the saidbent extremities 6 being fitted against the inner sides of the side-members 6, whose extremities are respectively bent inward as at b and fitted in the ends of the said channeled topand bottom members.

As thus constructed and assembled, the arts of the rack-frame may be secured by welding or by fastenings. The rack may also be made from a single metallic strip'bent into rectangular form. 4

For the purpose of illustration, Fig. 4 represents tl-e rack with its shelves mounted in the provision-chamber of a refrigerator, denoted by the letter D. The top and bottom members 6 of the rack are shown provided medially with sockets b the lower one of which is engaged by a 'intle or stud d on the fioorof the provision-c amber, while the up- 40 per one is en aged by the end of an adjustable screw 5 tapped through a suitable holder d sion-chamber, thus constituting the p1votal bearingsfor the rack. In this instance, the holder (1 is shown as a cross-bar or spider arranged in or under a central opening in the cellmg of the provision-chamber, which openmg is intended to permit the descent of cold air down into the provision-chamber from the ice-chamber above the same.

frigerator is shown cylindrical, and the rack pivotally-supported at substantially the center thereof is adapted to revolve with its sidemembers close to the inside refrigerator walls, so that the circular shelves A within the rack occupy practically the full crosssectional capacity of the provision-chamber. Upon opening the refrigerator door E, the rack can be readily revolved so as to bring all sides of the provision-shelves foremost, to facilitate the arrangement of food or other'articles on the shelves or the removal of the same, obviating the necessity of reaching across the width of the shelves; while the shelves can be adjusted vertically, or can be detached at or near the ceiling of the provi- The reand replaced, as maybe desired, by pro er manipulation of the clamps C, as herein efor supporting the shelves; hence the' drippipe from the ice-chamber can be located out of the way; example, it can be located in the annular dead-air space between the outer and inner refrigerator walls, as explained in my concurrently filed application Serial No. 351,706. Heretofore, it has frequently been thought necessary to mount the provision-shelvesof an upright refrigerator upon a central post, and for this purpose the drip-pipe has customarily been utilized. The present construction provides an im proved means for obviating the need of such central pivot-post, thereby leaving the whole area ofthe shelves unobstructed to receive provisions or other articles.

While my improvements are especially intended for use in refrigerators or other storage receptacles, it will be understood that the invention is susceptible of general utility, for the'purpose of supporting food or other articles in various kinds of receptacles or cases intended for storage, display, preserving or for the purpose of treating the articles. The rack may also be pivotally mounted in any suitable manner, as by providing 'pintles or spindles on-the top bottom members of the rack adapted to fit in suitable bearings for the same.

While the shelves are preferably circular, they may of course be made polygonal, and the terms rin and rings as used herein, and in the fol owing claims, are to' be construed as including either polygonal or annular forms thereof.

Various modifications in details may be included within the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A rack forstorage and otherreceptacles,

comprising an upright rectangular frame adapted to be pivota ly-mounted to revolve about a substantially central vertical axis, a horizontal shelf or shelves arranged therein, and clamps detachably-enga ing the rim or marginal portion of said shelf or each of the shelves and adjustably-engaging the sidemembers of said frame.

2. A rack for storage and other-receptacles comprising a frame having upright sidemembers, a shelf therein having a shoulder and at its rim or outer portion, and devices attached to said side-members of the frame having claws detachably embracing the said shoulder on the shelf.

3. A rack comprising a frame having up- I right side-members longitudinally slotted, a

shelf arranged therein, and clamps supporting said shelf and comprising coacting clamp-members embracing said side-members of the frame and having a thumb-screw securing them together, one clamp-member adjustable claws for engaging the outer ring of said shelf.

5. A rack for storage and other receptacles comprising an upright rectangular frame and one or more horizontal shelves therein each consisting of concentric inner and outer rings and radial wires or rods rigidly connecting the same, and devices on the side members of said frame en a ing the outer rin or rings of said shelf or slrelves and thereby olding the same.

' 6. The frame for supporting shelves comprising side-bars and channeled top and bottom bars, the ends of the side-bars being bent inward and fitted'in theends of said channeled bars at the corners of the frame,

and the ends of said channeled bars being bent respectively downward and upward and fitted against the inside faces of said side-bars. f

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

- CHARLES H. BOECK.

Witnesses: Y

D. RLTARBELL, WM. P. HANNAFoRD. 

